Saturday August 13, 2016

With its original plan involving high-bandwidth fiber-optic cable proving to be "expensive and slow moving," Google is now turning to wireless technology to roll out its Fiber services at a more economical rate. It will all hinge on the performance of new "experimental transmitters," which will operate in a band that relieves Wi-Fi congestion.

The company has been testing a new wireless-transmission technology using the 3.5-GHz band in Kansas City, but the heavily redacted FCC filing suggests that it wants to dramatically expand to testing "experimental transmitters" at up to 24 US locations, including Provo, Utah, Omaha, Nebraska, and Boulder, Colorado, for a period of 24 months. Google is requesting authorization to operate between the 3.4 and 3.8 GHz band. "We are working to test the viability of a wireless network that relies on newly available spectrum," a spokesperson tells Business Insider. "The project is in early stages today, but we hope this technology can one day help deliver more abundant Internet access to consumers."